Electric ant and roach trap



June 26, 1951 A. J. GARDENHOUR 2,553,080

ELECTRIC ANT AND ROACH TRAP Filed Aug. 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'lnuwxon CLLUDL J. Gardmnho ur:

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June 26, 1951 A. J. GARDENHOUR ELECTRIC ANT AND ROACH TRAP Filed Aug. 3, 19.45

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Patented June 26, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC ANT AND ROAOH TRAP Allen J. Gardenhour, Waynesboro, Pa.

Application August 3, 1945, Serial No. 608,798 7 Claims. (Cl. 43-412) My invention relates to an electric ant and roach trap particularly adapted for killing insects of the crawling varieties, though well adapted also for destruction of other. insects. It is an object of the invention to provide means of the character described that shall be simple, strong and compact, and therefore inexpensive to manufacture and not likely to get out of order.

Another object is to provide convenient means to contain the remains of dead insects, which means is so arranged as to be readily removable for disposal of such insects, such means being also adapted for holding bait to attract insects.

Another object is to provide means for supporting a transformer to step up the voltage of the electric current that is used in my device, with strong and simple means for supporting the transformer in a desirable position.

Referrin now to the drawings, which are made a part of this application and inwhich similar reference characters indicate similar parts Figure l is a plan of one form of my invention;

Figure 2, an elevation of the same with parts in section;

Fig. 2a, a detail of parts shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 3, a bottom plan, omitting the lowermost member of the trap;

Fig. 4, a plan view of another form of the in-- -vention separation by the user, as by grasping the top of thedevice with one hand and the pan with the other. In the device as here shown the crossed members consist of a long strip I extending completely across the pan and two shorter strips I2, I2 each extending from strip II to the adjacent wall of the pan, the strips I2, I2 being riveted to strip I I or otherwise permanently fixed thereto, and the outer ends of all these strips bearing against the inner wall of the pan.

A base I3 rests on the cross strips I|, I2, I2 and is fixed thereto by means of angular strips I4 of metal, each of which has one leg riveted to the base and the other to one of the strips of the frame, all parts of the device being made of sheet metal or wire unless otherwise indicated.

Upon the base and fixed thereto by means of screws I5 is the casing I6 of a transformer having a primary coil IT, a secondary coil I8 and an iron core l9, all as indicated in Fig. 5, the primary coil being connected to a source of current by conductors 2!! (Figure 2) and the transformer being fixed to the base by screws 20. A lead 24 connects one pole of the secondary of the transformer tothe ring 2 I, hereinafter referred to, and the lead is insulated from base I3 by an insulator at 25 (Fig. 3). Another lead C connects the opposite pole of the secondary to the base I3 through a screw 2|.

Within'the wall of the pan I0 is a wire ring 2 I, suitably spaced therefrom to tend to contact insects on the wall of the pan, it being understood that the spacing may be varied according to need, as may other details of the trap. Usually the ring will be held at about the level of the verge of the pan, as being the most effective position but this may be altered according to circumstances. The ring is carried by insulators in the form of porcelain bushings 22 having circumferential grooves to receive parts of the strip II or I2 by Which they are carried. It will be understood on consideration of the various figures that the strips have radial slots or cutouts S'near their outer upper corners wide enough to admit the narrow mid-portion 23 of an insulator (Figure 2) Whose flanges D then hold it in place by engagement at the top and bottom and inner side with the edges of the cutouts, while the wire ring 2| prevents the insulator from leaving the cutout.

As a matter of convenience in assembling parts, the insulators have holes considerably larger than the diameter of the wire of ring 2|, and areheld in place after assembly by means of inserts 26 of rubber cord or other like packing material.

In the operation of the device, assuming the same to be connected to a source of current, and bait of any suitable kind having preferably been placed in the pan, if an insect attempts to crawl into or over the trap and if parts of the insect contact the pan and the wire ring .2I, a current of high voltage will pass through it and electro cute the insect, and the same thing will occur if it touches simultaneously any two oppositely electrified portions of the trap. The pan serves as a holder for bait, as a container for dead insects and as one of the oppositely charged elements of the trap, besides serving as a support for the crossed strips II, l2, and the transformer 3| may be generally as in the form first described, but instead of a single wire ring there are several concentric wire rings 28 and 3!. Of these, two rings 29 are grounded on the metallic frame as by being fixed directly to radial strips ll, l2, as shown, by welding, or clamping, etc. The wire rings 3| are insulated from the metal frame by flanged bushings 22' (Fig. 4). These bushings may be inserted into slots opening at the top of the radial frame members as indicated at 22a. The rings 3| are connected to one pole of the secondary of transformer 3 l by a lead 33, whereas the rings 29 and the pan 30 are connected to the opposite pole of said secondary by a lead 32 (Fig. In Fig. 4, the cross strip H is connected to the cross strips l2 in a similar manner as disclosed in Fig. 3 for the crossed strips l l and [2. The base l3 shown in Figs. 1-3, inclusive, is omitted from the form shown in Fig. 4, and the transformer 31' is secured to the crossed strips H and I2 in Fig. 4, in any convenient manner.

In the second modified form shown in Fig. 6, grounded rings 34 bonded to the frame are arranged in alternation with insulated rings 35 in a vertical coaxial series, the rings being held as before by crossed frame members 36 and 31, and

the grounded wire rings 34 being secured directly to said crossed pieces whereas the other rings 35 are set in insulators 22" located in said frame members. The base 38 of the device stands in pan 39, which may serve as bait holder, dead insect holder and frictionally connected holder for the remaining parts of the trap, etc., as before. The frame is surmounted by a dome-shaped cover 40 with a guide eye 4| through which pass the conductors leading to a transformer shown generally at 42 and having leads connected respectively to the frame at 43 and to the insulated rings at 44, parts of the lower rings being omitted for better showing of the remaining lower parts of the trap. A light bulb may be located in suitable position, e. g., as shown at 45 in a socket 46 at the lower end of the trap, the inner ends of frame members 36 and 3! being omitted in part to afford space for the lamp. The frame 43 rests in pan 39, and includes the crossed members 36 and 31, similar to members H and [2 in Fig. 3. Since the pan 39, members 36 and 31, rings 34 and frame 43 are connected to one pole of the transformer secondary, while the other pole is connected to insulated rings 35 as at 44, any insect bridging two adjacent rings 34 and 35 short circuits the transformer secondary and is electroouted.

An advantage of the construction of Figure 6 resides in the fact that it is well adapted for use against flying insects as well as crawling ones, in that insects contacting oppositely charged wires in the upper portions of the trap are killed with equal certainty as those crawling up over the rim of the pan.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes may be made in the devices herein disclosed, all without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings vand described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An insect trap comprising a circular pan, a frame having radial members fitting frictionally in the pan, said pan and said frame being made of conducting material, a transformer located at the top of the frame, radial slots in the 011 1 2 ends of the radial frame members, insulating circumferentially grooved bushings in said slots and held against lateral displacement by engagement with said frame members, a wire ring carried by said bushings in concentric relation to the rim of said pan, an electrical connection from said frame and pan to one terminal of the secondary of the transformer and an electrical connection from the wire ring to the other terminal of the secondary of the transformer.

2. An insect destroyer comprising a circular pan, a frame having radial members adapted to stand in the pan, a transformer mounted on the frame, insulating bushings arranged in a circle substantially concentric with the rim of the pan on said radial members, a wire ring mounted in said bushings, electrical connections from one terminal of the secondary of the transformer to said wire ring, and electrical connections from the other terminal of the secondary of the transformer by means of the frame to the rim of the pan, both the pan and the frame being conductors of electricity.

3. An insect destroyer comprising a pan having a wall, a frame in the pan, means for supporting a transformer on the frame, a conductor arranged concentrically with the pan close to the rim of its wall, said pan and frame being made of conducting material and said conductor being insulated from the frame and pan, and connections from opposite terminals of the secondary of the transformer to the said conductor and to the pap respectively.

4. An electrical insect trap comprising a metallic pan, a metallic frame in the pan, means for supporting a transformer on the frame, a series of conductors arranged concentrically with the margin of the pan in spaced relation to each other and to the margin of the pan wall such as to be adapted to permit an insect to contact with adjacent conductors or with a conductor and the said margin, means for insulating alternate conductors from said pan and frame, means for connecting said insulated conductors to one terminal of the secondary of the transformer, and means connecting ,the pan and the remaining conductors to the other terminal of the secondary of the transformer.

5. An electrical trap comprising a circular metallic pan, a metallic frame having radial members fitting frictionally in said pan, a plurality of concentric sets of insulating bushings at spaced intervals on the radial members of said frame. concentric wire rings carried by the respective sets of bushings, other wire rings arranged in alternation with the first-named rings and bonded to said radial members, a transformer supported on said radial members and electrically connected at one terminal of the secondary of the transformer by way of said radial members to said pan and to the rings bonded to said radial members, and a connection at the other terminal of the secondary of the transformer to the wire rings mounted in said bushings.

6. An electrical insect trap comprising a metallic pan, a metallic frame in said pan, said frame having radial members, a transformer supported 5 trically connected thereto at one terminal of the secondary, and means connecting the other terminal of the secondary f the transformer to the insulated rings.

'7. An electric insect trap as in claim 6, the transformer being mounted at the top of the frame, and an electric lamp mounted inside the frame at the lower end thereof.

ALLEN J. GARDENHOUR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 18,294 Frost Dec. 22, 1931 656,642 Haseltine Aug. 28, 1900 OTHER REFERENCES Mechanix Illustrated, pages 64, 65, 66, 67, of June 1939. 

